 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Cook v. Morrison3/3/1992
dge the defendant would not have seen men in a trench before the dirt had been moved away from the edges of it because the day of the accident was the first time anyone had been in such a trench. Because these facts do not show that the defendant knew or should have known of the circumstances creating the danger to which Cook was exposed, summary judgment for the defendant was proper on this cause of action.
III
Nondelegable Duty
The plaintiff argues that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment on her claim for breach of the nondelegable duty to ensure that Morrison was taking adequate safety precautions.
On these facts, this cause of action is essentially identical to the plaintiff's cause of action for liability based upon the defendant's ownership of the land upon which Cook was killed. Unless the activity undertaken is inherently dangerous, one who hires an independent contractor is not required to provide employees of the independent contractor a safe place to work nor is he required to take proper safeguards against dangers which may be incident to the work undertaken by the independent contractor. Id. at 350-57, 407 S.E.2d at 234-38. If, however, the activity is inherently dangerous and the party who hired the independent contractor knows or should know of the circumstances creating the danger, then he has the nondelegable duty to the independent contractor's employees "to exercise due care to see that . . . [these employees are] provided a safe place in which to work and proper safeguards against any dangers as might be incident to the work [are taken]. Id. at 357, 407 S.E.2d at 238. Again, assuming arguendo that the forecast of the evidence is sufficient to establish a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the trenching was inherently dangerous, because there was no evidence in the record demonstrating that the defendant knew or should have known of the circumstances creating the danger to which Cook was exposed, summary judgment for the defendant was proper.
IV
Negligent Hiring
The plaintiff argues that summary judgment on her negligent hiring claim was improper because genuine issues of material fact exist as to whether the defendant negligently hired Morrison.
In Woodson v. Rowland, 92 N.C. App. 38, 46-47, 373 S.E.2d 674, 678-79 (1988), aff'd in part and rev'd in part, 329 N.C. 330, 407 S.E.2d 222 (1991), this Court addressed the issue of whether one who hires an independent contractor is under a duty to the independent contractor's employees to select the independent contractor with reasonable care. Stated differently, the issue is "whether an injured employee of the incompetent or unqualified independent contractor can obtain relief from the party who negligently hired or retained the independent contractor." Woodson, 329 N.C. at 358, 407 S.E.2d at 239. This Court refused to recognize any duty flowing from the one hiring the independent contractor to the independent contractor's employee. Woodson, 92 N.C. App. at 46-47, 373 S.E.2d at 678-79. Because the North Carolina Supreme Court
did not disavow this Court's holding nor the reasoning underlying it, Woodson, 329 N.C. at 358, 407 S.E.2d at 239, we are bound by it and conclude that summary judgment for the defendant on this cause of action was proper. In re Civil Penalty, 324 N.C. 373, 384, 379 S.E.2d 30, 37 (1989) (panel o
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 North Carolina Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|